Update on Sale of Mechanics Hall

The Selectboard voted unanimously on 6/9/20 to proceed with the Mechanics Hall proposal submitted by Red Cardinal contingent on a mutually satisfactory Land Development Agreement and Host Community Agreement. The Board invites Red Cardinal to submit drafts of the said agreements for the Board's consideration. 

The Town authorized the sale of Mechanics Hall at Town Meeting in May 2018. The Selectboard formed a committee to propose terms and conditions for the sale. The Selectboard issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) in 2019 based on the feedback from that committee. The Selectboard received one response to the RFP and worked with that party on a Land Development Agreement. When that party indicated they were no longer interested in pursuing negotiations, the Selectboard reissued the RFP. Red Cardinal, doing business as RC Retail Princeton, was the only party to submit a proposal.

The Selectboard was pleased with the level of detail and responsiveness in the Red Cardinal proposal. They plan to completely rehab the building and use it for a retail cannabis establishment. You can find the proposal here. In addition to Red Cardinal’s proposed purchase price of $5,000, the Town stands to substantially benefit from Red Cardinal’s operations through Host Community Agreement payments and local option tax payments of approximately $150,000 annually (per the proposal).

Please note that Princeton's bylaws allow a retail cannabis establishment in a commercial district. In 2016, a majority of Princeton voters supported the referendum which legalized the sale of cannabis in Massachusetts. For more information on marijuana in Princeton, see this report created by the Planning Board for the Selectboard in September of 2018.